Forget-Me-Not
by TsubakiTwilight
Summary: Yukihira Kyou. Some people love him, some people hate him, while others fear him. One thing they can't deny though, is his "God-like" talent and passion for cooking. AU/Spin-off of Remember! Recommended that you read that first. OC! Pairings undecided!
1. Prelude

**I.**

 _Ring~!_

 _Ring~!_

 _Ri- Beep._

"… Hello~?"

"… _Huh…? You're not my brother… did I call the wrong number…?"_

"Oh! You must be Kyou's younger brother! Soma, right?"

" _That's right. How do you know Kyou?"_

"I'm a close friend of his~! Anyway, were you trying to get a hold of Kyou?"

" _Yeah… Pops said that he would pick me up and take me to the examination room… but that was over two hours ago!"_

"Haha! Sorry about that, Soma-kun~! Kyou got a bit… sidetracked at the moment but he should be done soon!"

" _Well… alright…"_

"I'm assuming you're waiting by the Main Gate?"

" _Yeah. There's this huge crowd of people and everything right now… and I swear I saw a beach and at least three different farms on my way here! Just what kind of cooking school is Tootsuki anyway?!"_

"The best kind, Soma-kun. But, don't worry! Kyou and I will pick you up in a few minutes, okay~?"

" _Sure, guess I'll just sit here and take this all in…"_

"Wonderful! We'll be there soon!"

" _See ya!"_

Kai Koanui ended the call and turned his attention back towards the stage, where a panel of judges were about to make their decision.

" _Well, Judges?!"_ The announcer asked. _"Who is the victor of this Shokugeki?!"_

The judges were all silent for a moment, before each one raised their hand and rendered their vote.

" _With his seventh Shokugeki win under his belt since his return from winter break… the unanimous winner of this match is… YUUUUUKIHIRA KYOUUUU!"_

The observing audience let out a loud cheer as the screens lining the arena-like room flashed with the winner's name.

' _Like there was any doubt that Kyou would lose,'_ Kai thought with a smirk. He pushed off the wall he had been leaning against and made his way towards the center of the raised stage, his dark hair and tanned skin shining under the bright lights of the arena.

"Kyou~! Congrats on yet another win~!"

Yukihira Kyou turned and removed the hair tie holding back his wavy, auburn locks. His golden eyes shone with excitement and Kai couldn't tell if the slight flush in Kyou's cheeks was from the heat of the kitchen or from the adrenaline high that he seemed to get whenever he stepped foot in a kitchen.

It was probably the latter.

"Kai! I can't believe that it's been two hours already! Two hours is not _nearly_ enough time for me to get all my ideas and dishes done! I had three more dishes that I wanted the judges to taste so they could give me their feedback!"

… Definitely the latter.

Openly smiling, as he handed Kyou his cell phone, Kai responded, "Kyou… you managed to make _four_ completely different and completely delectable dishes for the judges and for your opponent to enjoy. Anymore and I think they would have passed out from sheer ecstasy~!"

"Still… do you think that the Shokugeki Committee will listen to my request of making the time limit longer for Shokugeki? I mean… the matches should at _least_ be three hours!"

Kai's smile turned indulgent. "Well~, it can't hurt to try."

Determination flashed in Kyou's eyes and he adjusted his glasses with a nod of his head. "Alright then! I'm going to go to their building right now and tell them about my request!"

"Wait a minute, Kyou!" Kai's hand shot forward and grabbed a hold of Kyou's arm before the bespectacled teen could run off. "Before you go racing off anywhere, I need to tell you that your brother called a few minutes ago wondering where you where."

"… _Shit_! I forgot that Soma would be coming to take the transfer exam today! Aw man… I should've moved my Shokugeki against Jacob to another day!"

"And miss an opportunity to work in a kitchen? The day you do that is the day the world ends, Kyou~."

The auburn-haired teen grumbled half-heartedly – mainly because he knew that Kai was right, he wasn't one to turn down a chance to cook – and set a brisk pace towards the buildings' exit. "Regardless, it doesn't change the fact that I promised my dad and Soma that I'd show him around Tootsuki before his exam. While cooking is important to me, family is just as important! Now… if we hurry up, we should be able to make it to the Examination Hall while the exam is underway! Once Soma passes – and he will – then I'll be able to show him around his new school!"

"You seem to hold your brother in a high regard, Kyou."

Kyou threw a carefree grin over his shoulder. "Of course! After all, Soma is one of the few people that can keep up with me whenever I cook!"

'… _Well now… I'm eager to see just how talented this younger brother of yours is, Kyou.'_

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **II.**

' _I-I can't accept this!'_ Nakiri Erina thought angrily as she glared down at the egg-and-rice dish she had just tasted. _'Th-This no-name, second-rate chef… to think that he would be capable of creating such a plebian dish and making it so that I-?!'_

"So?" Yukihira Soma leered with a grin. "How was it? Was it bad? Was it _good_? C'mon… tell me!"

Erina jerked her head up and pinned her glare on the rude, unrepentant red-haired teen that stood across from her. _'N-NO! I can't- I won't accept someone like_ him _into the academy!'_

"I-It was the most disgusting thing that I've e-ever had! You _fail_!"

"… Huh." Soma blinked.

"… Huh." Kai said.

"… Huh?!" Kyou yelled.

"… Huh?!" Erina cried. "K-Koanui-kun? K-Kyou-sempai?! What are you two doing here?!"

"Aw~ You know me, Erina-chan~! Wherever Kyou goes, I go!"

"I'm here because I wanted to see how my brother's exam was going… but I must have misheard you just now, Erina… My brother _failed_?! How?!"

Erina drew back in shock. "Th-This p-person is your _brother_ , Kyou-sempai?!"

"Yes!" Kyou yelled, throwing his hands up. "Why are you so surprised, Erina? We have the _same_ last name!"

"I-I thought it was just a coincidence! If he's your brother, Kyou-sempai, then how come he didn't enroll here when he was in middle school?!"

"Oh, that's easy," Soma piped in with a grin and chuckle, "I didn't know anything about Tootsuki back then and I didn't see a need for me to leave my old middle school."

"Originally," Kyou added, "Soma was just going to stay at our family's shop but with Dad abroad now and no relative able to look after him, we all thought it best for Soma to transfer here since we don't know how long Dad's going to be gone."

"Yeah, that's pretty much what happened," Soma agreed with a nod. "Although… I have to admit that Tootsuki is a whole lot different than what I thought it would be like…"

Kyou huffed out a laugh and slanted his eyes towards his younger brother, a teasing smile on his face. "What? You thought Tootsuki would be like one of those small, cooking schools that you always ended up taking over back home?"

Soma shrugged. "To be honest: yeah."

"If Tootsuki was anything like that, then there's no way I'd have spent the past four years of my life here when I could have could have spent that time learning and training under Dad instead."

"I guess that makes sense…," Soma admitted before narrowing his eyes at Kyou. "But! Why didn't you tell me Tootsuki was a fancy, gigantic place like this?!"

"Hey! I showed you pictures from my middle school _and_ my first year of high school here!"

"Yeah, well, I thought those pictures were from places you ended up travelling to for school trips! You mean to tell me that this school has a forest _and_ a _swamp_ in it?!"

"Yes to the forest, no to the swamp. There are actually several different types of forests scattered around the campus all with different vegetation and wildlife inhabiting it. It helps maintain a certain freshness and quality to the ingredients we use. The swamp photo actually was from a school trip that we took earlier this year!"

Soma pinned his older brother with an incredulous stare. "… You mean to tell me that you ended up visiting an actual _swamp_?!"

"Yep!" Kyou chirped brightly. "It was really educational and fascinating! We got to see first-hand how crocodiles are handled and skinned and we even got to create our own dish using fresh crocodile meat!"

"What?! That sounds like a ton of fun! Why didn't you tell me Tootsuki sent you to places like that, Kyou?!"

"Well, you were the one who didn't want to enroll here for middle-school, Soma. I even gave you that pamphlet and book about Tootsuki, remember?"

"… Oh yeah…" Soma rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "I ended up using those for kindling for my _hibachi_ grill…"

"But, we're getting off track, Soma!" The auburn-haired teen whirled around and pinned Erina – who had been watching the conversation between the brothers with wide eyes – with a hard stare. "You really felt that Soma's dish was the worst thing you ever had, Erina? Again… _how_?! Our dad taught me everything I know and _I_ helped teach Soma everything _he_ knows! … Unless…" A sudden realization dawned on the bespectacled teen and he turned to his younger brother with a sharp frown. "… Soma, were you experimenting just now and served something that really _was_ 'disgusting'? Like one of your squid and peanut butter dishes?"

"Like you're one to talk about experimenting and serving bad food, Kyou~" Kai's comment went unnoticed.

Soma scratched the back of his head. "Well… I wouldn't say it's an 'experiment' per say… this is a dish I created back at the shop a while ago and Pops and the customers seemed to really like it so it became a permanent secret menu item!"

Kyou blinked and moved closer to where Soma's dish sat. "Really?" He asked with an intrigued look. "What's in it?"

"Basically, it's a _Transforming Furikake Rice Bowl_! I boiled chicken wings with _bonito_ stock, _sake_ , and light soy sauce then cooled it to make a chicken broth jelly then I scrambled eggs and minced it before serving all of it on a hot bowl of rice!"

Kyou leaned forward with sparkling eyes. "Oooh! That sounds good, Soma! Mind if I take a bite?"

The red-haired teen threw his head back with a laugh. "No problem! Eat all you'd like, Kyou!"

Humming in anticipation, Kyou grabbed a clean set of chopsticks and scooped up some of the egg, rice, and jelly before eating it. He closed his eyes in delight as the chicken's saltiness clashed wonderfully with the eggs' natural sweetness.

"It's delicious in its simplicity, Soma!" Kyou declared with bright eyes. "Amazing!"

"Hehe… thanks, Kyou!"

"Although… would you like to hear what I would do differently next time?"

"Sure!"

"When you begin to boil the chicken wings, I would also add in garlic, onions, and a few bay leaves to add a note of sharp, bitterness to the jellied stock."

"That makes senses… the bitterness would help cut through the rich body of the jelly…"

"And I would also do something with the rice… maybe you could use _basmati_ rice next time? It's a longer grain of rice that isn't as sticky and would allow for the chicken and egg flavor to permeate the entire bowl."

"… But, if the rice isn't sticky, wouldn't it be harder to eat? Especially when the jellied broth liquefies and turns back into a soup? It'd be hard for people to eat something like that with chopsticks."

"But then the rice should be able to soak up all that broth, right? If it does that, then the broth would get even more flavor since _basmati_ rice has a nutty taste."

"… That sounds delicious, but over complicated."

"What do you mean, Soma?"

"Well… normal white rice has been a perfect vehicle to this dish so far because it's sticker than other types of rice and has no inherent flavor which allows the broth and egg's flavor to shine more. Plus it's easier to eat with chopsticks!"

"That's true… Say, why don't we each make a different version of your _Transforming Furikake Rice Bowl_ right now? You can use regular white rice and I'll make it using _basmati_ rice."

"Sure thing! Though, I hope you don't mind me taking a few of your suggestions, Kyou!"

Kyou waved a hand dismissively. "Nah, I don't mind, Soma. What we're mainly trying to do here is to see which rice is better in this dish so, you can make all the changes to the eggs and broth as you'd like."

The red-haired teen jutted his chin out with a proud smile. "Heh… I'll have you know that the Old Man's taught me some new tricks since we last saw each other! This time my dish will be loads better than yours, Kyou!"

Kyou's grin was sharp and competitive. "Well then… I'm looking forward to seeing how much you've improved, Soma!"

As the two brothers began to pull out mixing bowls and frying pans, the remaining trio of spectators couldn't help but blink in surprise at the sudden change of events.

"D… Did, Yukihira-sempai forget that you failed his brother already, Erina-sama?" Arato Hisako asked dazedly.

"P-Perhaps he did, Hisako," Erina replied, a hopeful lilt to her voice.

Kai shrugged and crossed his arms. "Meh… I wouldn't count on it, Hisako, Erina-chan. Although," he slanted his dark eyes towards the blonde standing next to him, "it makes me wonder _why_ you even failed Kyou's brother in the first place, Erina. From what Kyou's told me, his brother is one of the few people that he actually _enjoys_ cooking with and that can keep up with him in the kitchen."

"H-He insulted Tootsuki's pride by applying here when he has no formal education or training in anything culinary!"

Kai stared blankly at Erina for a few moments. "… He 'insulted' Tootsuki's pride? Or your pride, Erina-chan?"

"Watch your tongue, Koanui!" Hisako cried indignantly, taking a step towards him.

The dark-haired teen smirked and raised his hands in a placating manner. "Calm down, Hisako~ Your blood pressure will rise if you keep on yelling and glaring at me like like that~!"

"Koanui!"

"But," Kai turned his attention back towards Erina, "you _do_ realize that you were basically making a decision that went against Tootsuki's policies, right? At Tootsuki, we don't care about bloodline or pedigree or 'formal' training or the such… the only thing that matters here is how well you can cook. Which begs the question… can Kyou's younger brother cook or not?"

Erina was silent for a long time.

"… Yes…," Erina bit out begrudgingly – looking as if the very word was causing her physical pain. "While the dish he made was nothing special when compared to 5-star or even 2-star restaurants… it was… passable…"

"Then that's all that matters."

Erina fell silent as she watched Soma laugh and chat with Kyou as they cooked. Something in her chest… ached at the sight of them smiling happily as they worked side-by-side.

"… Hisako."

"Yes, Erina-sama?"

"Send word to my grandfather: only one applicant passed today's examination, Yukihira Soma."

* * *

 **And here's the sister story to** _ **Remember**_ **that I said I was in the middle of writing!**

 **In this version, Kyou did not meet Azami when participating in the International Children's Competition and so did not receive 'training' from him. He is in his first-year of high school in this chapter and will be in his second-year when Soma begins his first-year at Tootsuki.**

 **(In** _ **Remember**_ **, Kyou would have also been in his second-year of high school but was held back a grade after returning from America.)**

 **Because Kyou did not meet Azami in this story, his personality is a** _ **lot**_ **different than his** _ **Remember**_ **!counterpart.**

 **As always, please let me know what you all thought of this via PM or Review!**


	2. Chocolate and Wasabi Cupcakes

**I.**

Mishima Sakura strode down the winding, window-lined halls and towering, marble archways that made up the elegant, and down-right extravagant, building that was the Elite Ten building – or their unofficial 'Headquarters', as some of the more open-minded and childish members lovingly referred to it as.

God forbid if the illustrious, traditional, and prestigious Tootsuki Tea Ceremony and Cooking Academy were to refer to one of their most famous buildings with such a… plebian and sinister title.

It would utterly shatter the refined image that Tootsuki staff and professors worked so diligently to maintain, especially since the whole scandal revolving Erina-sama and her father was still-

Sakura stopped her train of thought immediately.

She would not think about the heartbreak and trauma that scarred the Nakiri clan; to do so would be a completely disservice to them and every single act of kindness and compassion they showered upon the hardworking, dedicated men and women of under their employment.

Shaking her head briefly, Sakura came to a stop outside one of the ten doors that led into the personal offices of the current seated Elite Ten members. She raised a hand and rapped sharply against the polished, mahogany door.

"Excuse me, Yukihira-sama, but I have been sent by the coordinators of this years' opening ceremony to fetch you. You appear to be running behind schedule and were supposed to arrive at the ceremony an hour ago." When the second-year student, didn't respond, the young woman opened the door. "Pardon the intrusion, Yukihira-sama but have you-?"

A delectable and mouth-watering tsunami of aroma and scent immediately engulfed Sakura, and she felt her knees buckle from underneath her body, causing the rest of her to go crumpling to the ground in a boneless, mindless heap.

"Ahhh… H-Hahh…Nnn~~," were all the noises she was coherently able to make, as a spicy, fruity tang filled her senses and muddled her mind.

"Hmm…? Oh! Perfect timing!"

Black dress shoes that were polished to perfection entered Sakura's line of vision as she dragged her blurry vision upwards, past the dark-gray-bordering-on-black dress pants, past the crisp, white button-up shirt with a striped tie that bore Tootsuki's school colors, and into the fervent, frenzied golden-colored eyes of Yukihira Kyou.

"I just put the finishing touches on a new recipe that suddenly inspired me not too long ago! And since you're the first person I've seen since finishing this dish, you get to be the first person to try it!" With a flourish and a wide smile, Kyou thrust a large platter towards Sakura, causing her gaze to drop to the source of the overpowering – but oh so _delicious_ – smell.

Cupcakes.

Cupcakes were what had brought Sakura – a veritable veteran when it came to the students that made up the Elite Ten – to her knees.

"Well?" Kyou prompted, inching the platter closer to the woman. "Are you going to try one?"

With trembling hands, actually… with her entire _body_ shaking in anticipation and want, Sakura gently picked up one of cupcakes – it was a rich, dark, dark, _dark_ brown, topped with a delicate-looking swirl of snow-white frosting, and dotted with a light dusting of glistening, bright green crumbs and pieces – and took a large, most definitely un-ladylike, bite of the dessert.

To hell with her appearance and bearing for this _one_ moment! She'd never get another chance like this – to be the _first person_ to be granted the glorious moment of taste-testing one of Yukihira Kyou's newest creations!

Nine out of ten times, that lucky basta- _person_ was one Kai Koanui; but he wasn't here right now what with the opening ceremony being a mandatory event that all incoming first-years had to attend.

In her mind, Sakura let out a mad cackle. _'Suck on_ that _, Suzuka and Hitomi! That's what you get for being too damned slow to volunteer to pick up the wayward and easily distracted Yukihira Kyou-sama! Now_ I _get the opportunity to try one of his dishes!_

At first, the cupcake seemed to be your typical chocolate cupcake, sweet but not overly sweet… but then… an overwhelmingly-yet-not-too-of-an-overwhelming spicy, heat burst across Sakura's taste buds and created a gentle, searing fire that raced the length of her throat and crept up her nose and caused tears to prick the corners of her eyes.

A definitely undignified moan escaped her throat and she closed her eyes in pure bliss and ecstasy.

At Sakura's response, Kyou's smile widened and he stood with a proud look on his face – not that she would be able to see it for she was too far gone to be able to notice much.

"Like it?" Kyou asked glancing at the remaining cupcakes in his hand. "I was talking with Momo-chan the other day and we somehow got onto the topic of utilizing spice in desserts, she obviously didn't want anything to do with spices and ingredients that _'weren't cute'_ but the idea of combining two opposing flavors into a cohesive dish intrigued me and I couldn't help but think about all the flavor combinations and ingredients I could use to make such a dish. Though… I suppose when we were talking about spices, Momo-chan was most likely referring to seasonings like nutmeg or ginger while I had a much different seasoning in mind."

Kyou paused and held up his dish so that it caught the sunlight better.

"Chocolate and chili peppers is a pretty common combination of sweet and spicy, but I wanted to try something a little bit different. So I began experimenting with chocolate and _wasabi_! Now, _wasabi_ has a pretty nice kick to it in terms of heat level, but it doesn't linger on the tongue like chili peppers so often do so I thought it'd be a perfect ingredient to use to make a dessert that had just the right amount of heat and kick to it, without overpowering the overall taste and flavor of the chocolate. The cake itself is made with coconut milk, cocoa powder, sugar, vanilla, freshly ground ginger and wasabi while the icing is made with heavy cream, butter, powdered sugar, and ginger! Then I candied some _wasabi_ paste in sugar and honey and sprinkled it on top!

"So!" Kyou turned back to face Sakura with an expectant look on his face, "What do you think? Is it good? Is it bad? Is there anything you would change about it? It's not too spicy is it? Or too sweet? Too chocolaty? Not enough chocolate? The cake's not too dense is it? And the icing? Is it heavy on your tongue? Or is it light and airy like I envisioned it to be?"

As Kyou continued to pepper the unresponsive woman with questions, Sakura could feel herself slipping deeper and deeper into the decadent and downright _sinful_ taste of the dessert.

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **II.**

 _The room was stiflingly hot, and caused pearls of sweat to line her hairline and drip down her neck – but her body felt even hotter than the room, than the roaring fire not five feet away from her and the bed._

 _Her breaths her labored and her chest rose and fell with every inhale and exhale. Her eyes were covered by a length of cool, silk and she strained her ears to pick up even the smallest indication that He was in the room with her._

 _Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, she felt a hot, hot,_ hot _hand settle on one of her thighs, instantly setting her wired nerves ablaze with energy in anticipation._

 _A burning ache, a burning_ need _pooled in the pit of her stomach as that fiery hand trailed upwards to rest on the junction of her hip bone._

"… _Now, my dear…," His voice was velvet smooth and as deep and rich as chocolate. "Shall we begin…?"_

 _And, like always, Sakura came undone – reduced to a mindless, sobbing, sweating, panting mess like before._

 _And she loved it._

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **III.**

Kyou blinked down at the comatose state that the Tootsuki staff member was in.

"Oh… damn… I forgot that not everyone is as hardy and resilient as Kai and the other members of the Elite Ten… I suppose I'll need to call one of the Nurses' before heading off to the opening ceremony… I bet Soma- oh wait! Kai, Erina, _and_ Soma will all be at the ceremony! I'll head there now and have them give my cupcakes a try and get their opinion!"

With a plan in mind, Kyou hurriedly covered the remaining cupcakes and sped out the door – forgetting all about poor Sakura in his excitement.

(She'd turn out fine though. A scant ten minutes later, and she was up and about, admittedly on unsteady legs, and making her way back to the opening ceremony – the remains of the cupcake she had eaten being lovingly stored away for later.

Totally. Worth it.)

* * *

 **Updates for** _ **Forget-Me-Not**_ **will be slower and more sporadic than** _ **Remember**_ **only because I'm not spending as much time on this story like I am with** _ **Remember**_ **. I have some ideas of where I want this story to be at a certain arc, but getting to that arc is something that I'm still in the middle of creating.**

 **I also don't know if I'm going to have this story be as in depth and detailed as** _ **Remember**_ **mainly because we still don't know what second year students go through at Tootsuki – though with the Azami arc finally over, we might be given a better glimpse at some of the classes and events that second years do.**

 **And yes, Kyou – in this story is part of the Elite Ten – and I was planning on having him reveal just what seat he is but I want to keep it as a surprise a bit longer.**

 **This chapter is actually** _ **completely**_ **different than what I had originally wrote months ago but I'm happy with how this chapter turned out.**

 **As always, please let me know what you all thought via PM or Review!**


	3. Seafood Mango Stir-Fry

**I.**

"Nice you meet you all! My name is Yukihira Soma! Please, treat me kindly!" Yukihira Soma greeted with a bow.

He was standing in the middle of the Polar Star Dormitory, introducing himself to the other residents and students.

"… So it really is true that you're related to Yukihira-sempai," a teen with shaggy, dark-auburn hair murmured. It was hard to discern the expression he had because his bangs were completely covering his eyes.

Soma tilted his head. "… Are you talking about Kyou?"

"Of course we are!" A petite, blonde teen said. Her hair was tied into two buns on the side of her head. "We didn't even know that Yukihira-sempai even had a brother!"

"Now, now," a tall brunet said with a calm smile, "we all know that Kyou-chan is quite a private person."

"You don't get to say anything, Isshiki-sempai, because you knew about Yukihira-sempai's younger brother way before any of us did!" The blonde yelled, pointing an accusatory finger at the brunet.

"… Is everything okay out here? I'm hearing a lot of yelling…" Yukihira Kyou's mop of bright, fiery hair popped out from the kitchen as he looked at the gathered residents with concern and worry.

"Yukihira-sempai!" The blonde yelled, running towards Kyou. "Why didn't you tell us you had a little brother a long time ago?! You gave half the school a heart attack when you suddenly appeared at the Welcoming Ceremony and announced that you were looking for your brother so that he could try some of the cupcakes you made!"

Kyou tilted his head, his actions mirroring that of his younger brother's. "Didn't I tell you guys that my baby brother was enrolling here last month?"

"No! You didn't!"

"Really…? I'm sorry. Perhaps it just slipped my mind…"

"Y-Yukihira-sempai!"

"Anyway," Kyou turned his attention to Soma. "Soma! You have perfect timing! I was wondering if you wanted to have a little match with me like we do back home!"

Soma grinned. "Sure! I've improved a lot since our last match during my application, you know!"

Kyou returned the grin with one of his own. "I'm sure you have…!" He looked at the other Polar Star residents. "Can you guys be the judges for our match?"

"We'd be honored to, Yukihira-sempai," a teen with long, red hair answered motioning for the others to follow her.

"Great! What do you guys feel like eating?"

A timid-looking teen with braids spoke up. "U-Um… maybe, seafood, Yukihira-sempai?"

Kyou hummed thoughtfully. "Seafood, huh…?" He looked to his brother. "What do you think, Soma?"

"Seafood's fine with me, Kyou!"

"Alright then, seafood it is! Thanks, Megumi!"

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **II.**

"Hey, Kyou… what was up with that blonde chick who didn't want to pass me during my examination? She was acting like she was all that and super important…" Soma asked. He began dicing up some fresh ginger and scallions.

Kyou snorted and shook his head, draining a basket of boiled noodles before transferring them to a large wok. "That 'blonde chick' you're referring to is the granddaughter of the Headmaster and the heiress to the Nakiri family and, before you ask, the Nakiri family are the ones who founded Tootsuki and are basically considered royalty in the culinary world."

"Woah!" Soma exclaimed, adding the scallions and ginger to a sizzling pan at his station. "No kidding?"

"Nakiri-kun," Isshiki added, leaning forward in his seat with a smile, "is also the youngest member of the current Elite Ten."

"Oh, that's cool," Soma said absentmindedly, turning his attention to his pan. After a moment, he blinked and looked back at the brunet. "Wait… what's the Elite Ten?"

Isshiki's smile widened as he explained, "The Elite Ten is a… student council of sorts that's made up of the top ten students attending Tootsuki."

"… So they're like the best-of-the-best, right?"

"Precisely."

Soma's brow furrowed for a minute before a wide, eager grin spread across his face. "The best students at Tootsuki, huh…? I wanna challenge them!" He began to wash and dry a head of fresh lettuce.

Isshiki chuckled softly and raised a finger, a mischievous twinkle in his eye. "We~ll… you're getting your wish right now, Soma-kun."

"Huh…?" Soma looked at Isshiki with an absolutely _confused_ expression.

Isshiki chuckled once more and pointed his finger at Kyou, who had gone oddly silently. Soma still had a look of utter bafflement on his features. "Your brother, Kyou-chan," Isshiki clarified patiently, "is also a member of the Elite Ten."

A myriad of emotions flitted across Soma's face. Confusion. Shock. Awe. Pride. Indignation. He whirled around towards his older brother and waved his mixing spoon at him. "Kyou!" He yelled, his voice equal parts hurt, confusion, and delight. "You're part of this Elite Ten or whatever?! That's amazing! How come you never told me or Pops about any of this?"

Kyou shrugged before pouring some soy sauce into his wok. "Dad knows."

"What?! Then how come you never told me about it?!"

"It never came up in a conversation." Which was true, Some had never really shown much interest in Kyou's time at Tootsuki other than wanting to know what new skill or technique he had learned and, honestly, after telling their dad about the accomplishment, the two of them never really talked about it much afterwards. Dad really only brought it up when he was reminding him to not take his duties and responsibilities too seriously and to make sure he took enough time off to relax and recharge.

"I mean," Kyou continued, flipping the contents of his pan high in the air with practiced ease, "don't get me wrong, being a member of the Elite Ten is a great honor and all, and the benefits and perks are amazing, but, honestly? It's just a title – words that get added on after your name in order to give yourself some semblance of importance. I know a lot of chefs and students that would have been a far better Elite Ten member than me if given the chance."

"… Sounds like you aren't quite happy being a member of the illustrious Elite Ten, Kyou-chan." Isshiki said, narrowing his eyes.

"I like the freedom we're given when it comes to furthering our cooking skills and knowledge, but…" Kyou trailed off and shrugged once more.

"But…?" Soma prompted, adding a dash of salt and pepper to his frying pan.

"I dunno… maybe I need to follow Dad's advice and take a vacation or something… take some time off too really focus on me and my cooking and come back with a clear mind… I… think I'm…" Kyou paused and shook his head rapidly, slapping his cheeks a few times. He turned and grinned widely at the gathered audience. "… Enough of that kind of talk! My dish is ready to serve, how about you, Soma?"

"Almost done… just need a few… more… minutes…!"

"Alright then! While Soma is finishing up his dish, I present to everyone my creation!" Kyou handed out a plate to everyone and began serving the food. "I prepared a Seafood Mango Stir-fry… Enjoy!"

"Oh my god," Yuuki sobbed, "I am _so_ glad I chose the Polar Star Dormitory as my place of residence!"

Shoji and Aoki both nodded fervently, tears of happiness streaming down their faces.

Kai Koanui smirked and leaned forward in his chair. "I wonder what kind of journey you'll take us on this time, Kyou~?"

"Well, you'll just have to try it and find out!" Kyou replied with a smile.

Kai hummed before breaking apart his chopsticks and picking up a generous amount of long, glistening, golden-brown noodles. There were bright pops of orange and green and red intertwined with the noodles. As he placed the noodles in his mouth, a veritable tsunami of sweet-and-sour flavor threatened to overcome him and wash him away by the sheer taste alone. His eyes slid close and he groaned low in his throat. He clenched his free fist tightly – his blunt nails digging into the flesh of his palm – as he blinked, trying to wrestle his thoughts and emotion back under control.

' _Fuck…,'_ he thought with a pant, sweat beginning to bead on his forehead, _'e-even though I'm Kyou's a-assistant and his main sous chef in the kitchen… i-it's still a… challenge to not be swept away by h-his talent and skills…'_

With an iron will that was forged from the years he spent at Kyou's side, Kai cleared his throat and opened his eyes to see an expectant-looking Kyou staring back at him. From the corners of his eyes, he could see the swooning – and blissfully unconscious – forms of the other residents of the Polar Star Dorms. He swallowed twice and cleared his throat once more, straightening up in his seat as he did so. "Y-You… you used flat Chinese stir-fry egg noodles as the b-base of your dish… The sauce is a combination of chili pepper, coriander, rice wine vinegar, soy and fish sauce, brown sugar, and freshly squeezed lime juice and mango. You called it a 'Seafood' stir-fry but I think you should call it a Clam Stir-fry since the only seafood you used is clams."

Throughout Kai's explanation, Kyou began to nod his head, something proud shining in the color of his eyes and the curve of his smile. At the end of the explanation, Kyou's smile turned a touch mischievous and he leaned forward and pointed at his dish. "Oh really?" he asked, watching as Kai's brow furrowed in askance. "Are you sure that clams were the _only_ seafood I used in this dish?"

As Kai took another, hurried, bite of the stir-fry in an attempt to figure out what he was missing; Isshiki spoke up with an answer of, "Scallops. You also baked and finely minced scallops and added it to your dish."

"Right!" Kyou cheered with a smile. "But! None of you have had the best bite yet! You've only been eating the noodles!" He began pushing the plates closer to everyone. "Try the clams! First on their own and then with the noodles!"

A shiver ran down Kai's spine – it was equal parts nervousness and anticipation.

If Kyou was this excited for them to try the clams then how would everything taste together?

He wanted to find out.

With barely shaking hands, unlike the other residents who were barely holding onto consciousness – sans Isshiki, whom Kai was glancing at with awe and jealously; awe because the Eighth Seat was eating such an exquisite dish with ease, jealously because why couldn't he be as calm and collected at Isshiki when he was the one closest to Kyou and tried most of his dishes?!, Kai picked up a clam.

It was a hard clam. Common and generic, but Kai knew that Kyou could turn anything he touched into something extraordinary. The meat of the clam was a gorgeous, pale yellow – the color of the sun on a spring day and looked mouth-watering. Slowly, he brought the clam up to his mouth and his tongue darted out to scoop the clam meat up from its' shell and into his mouth.

It was succulent and juicy. Sweet and chewy with a light flavor that packed a huge punch.

"Oh. My. God~." Someone moaned from his right. It could have been Yuuki but it also could have been him – who knew?

"Good, right?" Kyou asked, still grinning widely. "Now try the clam with the noodles!"

Breathing heavily, Kai did as he was told – scooping out another clam from its shell along with a large amount of noodles and putting it in his mouth.

The flavor was too much and he could feel himself slipping away.

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **III.**

 _Kai was ship-wrecked._

 _Ship-wrecked and hanging onto a large piece of driftwood for survival._

 _Something with scales brushed past his leg and he kicked and flailed about in a sudden panic, thinking that it was a shark._

 _A soft, feminine giggle drew his attention and he looked to his right to see a… woman smiling playfully at him. She was stunning, with long, wavy golden locks, bright, blue eyes, and a dazzling smile. There were tiny pearls and vibrant-colored shells and pieces of coral threaded in her thick hair._

" _A Human~" she cooed, wading around him in a lazy circle. "I've never seen a Human before…!"_

 _Kai blinked. Was he hallucinating…? "… Huh…? You… you sound like you're saying you're not a Human…"_

" _That's because I'm not, Silly!" The woman raised her… tail(?!) out of the water. It was a deep, shining green that sparkled like emeralds._

" _Holy crap you're a mermaid!"_

" _Yep~" The mermaid let out another giggle and lowered her tail back into the water. "But… I'm curious, what's a Human doing so far out in the middle of the ocean?"_

 _Kai looked down with a wince. "Oh… my ship hit a bunch of rocks and sank…"_

 _The mermaid let out a soft gasp and swam closer, her hands hovering uncertainly in front of her. "Oh! I'm so sorry to hear that…! Um… are you… were there others…?"_

" _No," Kai answered with a shake of his head. "Thankfully I was the only one onboard… my ship was small enough for one person to sail it."_

" _That's… good, I suppose…"_

"… _That's one way to look at it…"_

 _There was an uncomfortable silence for a moment, before the mermaid swam closer and placed a slim hand on Kai's arm. "Do… do you want my help?"_

 _Kai glanced at her. "And how do you plan on helping me, exactly?"_

 _The mermaid smiled and moved her hands to the wood that Kai was hanging onto. With a flick of her tail, she began pulling the driftwood – and Kai – through the gentle waves and water. "We~ll… I can do this and pull you to the nearest Human port which is a few hours away… Or~…"_

" _Or…?"_

" _I could do that after I've shown you my home of Atlantis~!"_

" _Atlantis is real?!"_

" _Yep~" The mermaid giggled. "Real and oh so wonderful and beautiful…! Not many Humans get the opportunity to see Atlantis, you know."_

" _But… if I go with you then won't I drown? I can't exactly breath underwater you know!"_

" _That's fine! As long as you're with me, you won't drown!"_

"… _How do I know that you're telling the truth…?"_

 _The mermaid stopping swimming and put her face just centimeters away from Kai's own. "That's because we both know someone~!"_

 _Kai raised a brow in response, but didn't pull away. "Oh? And who exactly is this person?"_

" _We're both friends with Yukihira Kyou~!"_

 _Kai's mouth fell open as he started at the mermaid in shock. "Wait… Are you Aria? The Aria that he met a couple months ago while out fishing?!"_

" _Yep~ That's me~ And you must be Kai Koanui, right? Kyou's told me a lot about you~"_

" _What? When?! How?!"_

 _The mermaid, Aria, resuming swimming as she hummed softly. "We~ll… he's actually the reason why I'm so far from my ocean. He was worried that something bad might happen to you while you were sailing so he asked me to help you if you needed it~"_

"… _So that's why he told me to not swim away if my ship sank…"_

" _Exactly~"_

" _Hmmm… alright then… take me to Atlantis, Aria!"_

 _Aria nodded and began increasing her speed. "Right away~ Oh this is so exciting! I'll show you the castle and the town and the other merfolk and then when you're ready to leave I can give you all the gifts I wanted to give Kyou but haven't had the time to~ This will be so much fun~!"_

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **IV.**

"… This will be… so much… fun~…," Kai mumbled in ecstasy, his body slumped forward and sprawled across the counter.

Isshiki chuckled lowly as he crossed his legs and peered down at the comatose forms of his cute underclassman. Some, like Kai, were leaning against the counter, while the others were slumped backwards in their seats, wide, dazed smiles and looks decorating their faces. "Your cooking never ceases to amaze me, Kyou-chan."

"Thanks, Satoshi!"

"Okay, everyone!" Soma called out, bounding forward with a wide smile and a pot in his hands.  
"My dish is finished so I hope you're all are ready to… Huh?! W-What happened to everyone?!"

Kyou tensed and he rubbed the back of his neck. "Sorry, Soma, it's my fault," he admitted with a wince. "This kinda happens whenever people try my food… I really should have let you go first…"

"Woah…" Soma looked at his brother with admiration. "Your cooking must have gotten even _better_ if this is the type of reaction you get whenever people try your food! Now I'm even more excited to have them taste my dish! I wanna see just how my cooking is compared to yours!"

Kyou blinked at Soma's exuberance before the line of his shoulders relaxed. He smiled, brilliant and relieved. "… Right! Let's give everyone some time to recover and then we all can try some of your food! … Since our theme was seafood… it looks like you made some kind of seafood burger?"

"Yep! But I don't wanna spoil my recipe too much so I'll explain everything once everyone's back on their feet!"

"Sounds like a plan, Soma… normally it takes a few minutes for people to recover so it shouldn't be too long before they wake up."

"Great!" Soma placed the pot down and began tugging his brother back into the kitchen. "In the meantime, show me how to do that pan flip that you did earlier! It looked super cool!"

"Okay, okay… well… the first thing you have to do is…"

* * *

 **Yes. Isshiki is the** _ **Eighth**_ **Seat in this story.**

 **All will be explained in future chapters.**

 **Was planning on showcasing Soma's seafood burger but then everyone kinda passed out from eating Kyou's stir-fry.**

 **As always, let me know what you all thought via PM or Review!**


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